Marking 50th anniversary, Fort Armstrong Folk Festival opens Thursday
The Fort Armstrong Folk Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The annual gathering in Kittanning Riverfront Park, traditionally held the first week of August, starts on Thursday, Aug. 5, and ends on Sunday evening, Aug. 8.
Canceled last year for pandemic restrictions, the festival is back to normal this summer. Events begin Thursday at 6 p.m. with an opening ceremony honoring and remembering veterans, along with a speech from festival founder Bill Martin. The packed weekend that follows features art, entertainment, animals and performances on two different stages.
The Fort Armstrong Folk Festival has grown from its 1971 debut, organized to honor Vietnam veterans. It was a big hit with the local community. The next year Martin, an Air Force captain, and his partners set up the festival to appreciate Fort Armstrong senior citizens. The crowd turnout was even stronger than the first year. The festival has been scheduled every year since. And the jubilee has gotten bigger and better with time.
In addition to the many musical and stage performances, there is a petting zoo and horse-drawn carriages. There’s even a sheep shearing demonstration. On Saturday, the morning starts with a Raise the Roof 5K race and ends with a fireworks display at 10 p.m.
There will be an artist market with vendors from all around. And a blacksmith will be giving demonstrations throughout the festival.
The 50th anniversary of the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival will be a year of transition, too. It will be Jessica Coil’s last as executive director. She is passing the reins to Claire Osborne, the daughter of Arnie Moss, an FAFF board member.
“Leading this event for the past 10 years has been such a blessing to me,” Jessica Coil says. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most dedicated people in our community. They really all inspire me to do better. Seeing the fruit of the countless hours planning come to life in the faces of Festival attendees makes it all worth it. I’m stepping down this year in order to better accommodate my family’s busy schedule.
“Claire and her family have volunteered hundreds of hours at the festival so she’s not at all unfamiliar with the inner workings of the event. She has been working directly with me in planning this Festival so the transition will be a smooth one.”
Coil is not the only person stepping down this year. Two other board members are retiring after this year. She wanted to acknowledge them.
“We are wishing the very best to two of our longtime board members who are stepping down after this year’s festival, Arnie Moss and Jack Bennett. I can’t say enough about these two gentlemen. Both have served this board for approximately four decades. It’s truly incredible the amount of time, talent and dedication that they’ve brought to the table. They are both intending to focus on more time with their families, and their health. Arnie has served as treasurer and has been instrumental in running the festival’s ‘Beef Tent.’ Jack has served many roles, including scheduling security for the festival, securing volunteers, and organizing our vehicle displays and this year’s car cruise.”
Coil remembers the challenges of 2020, trying to keep some part of Festival alive as pandemic guidelines were changing. “In the end, we ended up canceling the entire event, leaving only the fireworks. We wanted to give something for the community and thought that viewing a fireworks show was the safest option. Even though we ended up with rain that evening, we still had hundreds of people line the banks of the Allegheny to watch. It was a good pick-me-up for the community.”
For the festival’s golden anniversary, the board wanted to do something special in the way of musical entertainment. So they booked the popular 1970s band Orleans. Known for their hits “Still the One” and “Dance with Me,” the quintet from Woodstock, N.Y., is closing out the festival Sunday afternoon from 2:30 to 5:00 pm on the main stage.
For more information, visit armstrongfestival.com.
The Fort Armstrong Folk Festival runs from Thursday, August 5 through Sunday, August 8 in Kittanning Riverfront Park in Kittanning.
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